Somakusha　蘇莫者

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

*Bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask (*bugakumen 舞楽面) of a bestial creature. Classification (for terms see bugaku ): a dance of the Left (sa-no-mai 左舞) said to have been introduced from China (Tougaku 唐楽). The piece combines two legends, one about the flute-playing mountain ascetic *En-no-gyouja 役行者(act 7c) and the other about Prince Shoutoku (Shoutoku Taishi 聖徳太子) playing his flute for the god of Mt. Shigi 信貴. Today an unmasked flautist plays a solo piece on stage. Two recent masks labeled Somakusha are housed at Itsukusima Jinja 厳島神社 and Shitennouji 四天王寺 (BM 83). Both masks show a long -haired, monkey-like face with large round eyeballs, profuse wrinkles and dangling tongue. On the other hand, the 12c sketches of old performances, "Shinzei kogaku-zu 信西古楽図", (Tokyo University of Fine Arts), (BM 82) depicts a goggle-eyed, leering, one-horned figure, not dissimilar to an unidentified mask in the Shousouin 正倉院 (8c) of a horned and tusked animal face.

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